Male body found at Vibes; music continues as death probed

Published 1:58 pm, Friday, August 28, 2009

BRIDGEPORT -- A body was discovered early Sunday at the Gathering of the Vibes campsite in Seaside Park.

The corpse of a 29-year-old male camper was found at the west side of the park, near the baseball diamonds sometime during the night.

At a press conference just before noon, Police Chief Joseph Gaudett said police received a call about the man's body at 7:06 a.m.

Investigators found multiple state identification cards -- none from Connecticut -- on the body, all with the same name, he said. Police would not release the man's name pending notification of his family.

Gaudett said the death appeared to be "medically related," although the cause of death will await an autopsy by the state medical examiner.

A camper at the site, who asked to be identified only as Matt B., said when he woke up at 5:30 a.m. the campsite was abuzz with rumors. When he wandered out of his camping area, he said he saw the dead body. "Somebody found his body as the sun was coming up," he said.

Matt B. said the body, which had been covered in a tarp, was swollen and appeared purple and bruised.

One festivalgoer, who would not give his name, said he saw a green Saturn with Pennsylvania license plates dump the body and drive off, which Gaudett would neither confirm nor deny.

Mike Gula, a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said he was walking through the campsite when someone told him about the dead body nearby. "His back was exposed. He was face down. I didn't know what to do," he said.

Meanwhile, the events planned in conjunction with the festival's last day in Seaside Park moved forward as planned.

Ken Hays, the Vibes producer and festival organizer, called the event a "sad day" for the concert series, which is in its 14th year.

"We've never had a fatality on site. For 14 years it's been my greatest fear. I'm saddened," he said.